The Shadows of Ancestral Wounds
Our shadow begins from a very early age, at the same time as our ego develops. Often we are given messages as small children, such as:
• Your energy is too big
• You are too loud
• Speak up
• You talk too much
• Stop goofing off
• Mommy is getting a headache
• Fighting with your brother is driving Mommy crazy.
These messages we receive, whether verbal or as visual cues, inform us on how to behave so that we will be loved, accepted and cherished. However, so many of us feel the opposite of loved, accepted and cherished. Many feel not good enough, abandoned or alone. Our tender little selves unknowingly decide it is best not to show those parts of ourselves that are unacceptable. So, we tuck them away in our psyche until something jolts us into awareness. We have repressed or buried the shadow pieces of ourselves. Just like our parents did, just like our great, great grandparents did, and the ancestors before them. The ancestral lineage has buried so much that no one recognizes how the behaviors of survival, abuse, chronic illness began.
“The time has come to expose the beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve you, your family or the world.”
But believe me, our ancestors had it a whole lot tougher than we do now. Going back in history reveals all sorts of horrible things that families simply accepted as life. The survival skills and behaviors that developed to keep the family alive were numerous and very often thought of as just how it had to be. Because it did have to be that way.
Today our world is shaking and jolting everyone on the planet. It feels like trying to pan for gold, trying to find that one nugget by sluicing or sifting through the sand with water. All of the jolts and shifting of world events is revealing the shadow within everyone. These nuggets are the shadow parts or the rejected pieces of beautiful beings that have been passed down through generations.
While many people think their ancestors have been holding these things as gifts for us, heirlooms if you will, the time has come to expose the beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve you, your family or the world. Clearing these ‘gifts’ allows you to experience the truth of who you are. Investigating the shadow or the dysfunction held in the family and releasing it in order to heal, reveals ‘gifts’ of freedom for the future generations who don’t have to carry the old behaviors forward.
One of my students wanted to release abandonment, another felt worthless. After the clearing process, both of these individuals said they experienced a lightness, like a weight lifted from their shoulders. I can imagine how heavy it has been for the ancestors to hold onto this stuff for generations with more of the same being passed down the line.
Curious about your shadow parts and how to clear them through your ancestral line? I am offering a series of four virtual Ancestral Clearing Sessions over the next few months beginning Tuesday, May 6th at 6 pm Pacific Time. In order to check out the rest of the schedule and register, please follow this link:
Ancestral Clearing Workshop
Join me and experience the relief and release of stopping the generational beliefs that have kept you from reaching your potential.
Together, we will be contributing to a better world filled with people who are just fine with being who they are and expressing all that they are with love and harmony.
Namaste, Susan
P.S. - Check out my Podcast Empowering Chats and take a listen to my interview with Granddaughter Crow where we chat about the gifts of shadow work: Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell.